1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ablation of rectal and other internal body structures.
2. Description of Related Art
Human beings are subject to a number of disorders in the area of the rectum and colon, including hemorrhoids (external and internal), prolapse of the rectal muscles, rectal muscle spasms, anal fissures, polyps, diverticulosus and diverticulitus, and pilonital cysts. Other internal disorders in nearby regions of the body include (in men) prostate cancer, (in women) incontinence, vaginal bleeding, vaginal cysts, vaginal fibroids, prolapse of the uterus, and related tumors or cancerous tissue.
Although there are treatments available for these disorders, such as surgery, systemic or topical medication, these treatments suffer from various drawbacks, including (for surgery) their relative invasiveness and expense, and (for medicinal approaches) their relative ineffectiveness and the causation of serious side-effects. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide methods and apparatus for treatment which are not subject to the drawbacks of surgery and medicinal approaches.
Although it is known to use RF energy to ablate tissue in the body (such as heart muscle tissue) to treat disorders, one problem which has arisen in the art is accounting for the flow of bodily fluids and gases while ablating tissue. Bodily fluids can dissipate, and can detrimentally absorb, energy to be applied to tissue.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide improved techniques for treatment of disorders in the area of the rectum and colon, or (for women) in the area of the vagina. This advantage is achieved by a method and system according to the present invention in which a catheter is inserted into the rectum or vagina, and at least one electrode is disposed thereon for emitting energy to ablate body structures or other tissue in an ablation region in or near the rectum, such as the sphincter, rectum, colon, or prostate, or in or near the vagina.